tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.comments2015-07-23T16:04:36.566+01:00CLASSICAL ICONOCLASTDoundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comBlogger908125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-39175087496710395722015-07-23T16:04:36.566+01:002015-07-23T16:04:36.566+01:00Many vyears ago I met Hugh Wood and we had a lovel...Many vyears ago I met Hugh Wood and we had a lovely chat. Then he found out that I was then working for some &quot;experts&quot; in British music. &quot;Tossers!&quot; he said, not quite in such blunt terms. I loved him from that momentDoundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-15728422721067529612015-07-08T13:53:53.394+01:002015-07-08T13:53:53.394+01:00Zelter was Mendelssohn&#39;s teacher, also friend ...Zelter was Mendelssohn&#39;s teacher, also friend of Goethe, so Zelter intrduced Mendelssohn to Goethe :-)Renate Laich-Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03550604907592115444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-25009802370731225672015-06-30T12:28:52.893+01:002015-06-30T12:28:52.893+01:00I am sorry to see from the press that ROH has seen...I am sorry to see from the press that ROH has seen fit to apologise for the &quot;offensive&quot; scene. Apologies are entirely due from the other side -- the utterly discourteous audience members who harried the singers and orchestra. One doesn&#39;t know if Pappano felt at all inclined to halt the orchestra, turn around and lecture the audience about common courtesy before continuing. Perhaps he should have done. It wouldn&#39;t have been the first time a response something like that had happened. Buying a ticket does not entitle audience members to treat hard-working, talented performers as slaves who are at their bidding. Perhaps some of them treat their own employees like that, but the opera house is no place for it.Roger Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12448938150029875105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-82398573022542643642015-06-25T09:52:17.116+01:002015-06-25T09:52:17.116+01:00Composers like Schubert were they so much &#39;rej...Composers like Schubert were they so much &#39;rejected&#39; because they were not listened to rather than understood against a set system of values? Is philology the solution for reappraisal ?Olivier Massonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08434003919232314545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-34301835443343904072015-06-24T22:57:42.345+01:002015-06-24T22:57:42.345+01:00Thank you so much. Greatly appreciated. More on Br...Thank you so much. Greatly appreciated. More on Britten on this site than most places !Doundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-11886649189778683922015-06-24T08:42:36.152+01:002015-06-24T08:42:36.152+01:00I have spent a lifetime studying Britten and lovin...I have spent a lifetime studying Britten and loving his music. This little review is the most sensible, balanced and passionate defence of Brittent I&#39;ve read. You brilliantly dismiss his critics as irrelevant, which they are. A great piece!Christopher Presslerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03580834121925284655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-18904341087858167652015-05-29T22:55:57.580+01:002015-05-29T22:55:57.580+01:00They brought it to Paris on Wednesday night.They brought it to Paris on Wednesday night.NPW-Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06314486898336205068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-81755747132942891972015-05-29T21:01:29.597+01:002015-05-29T21:01:29.597+01:00I should mention that putting 32 Linden Gardens in...I should mention that putting 32 Linden Gardens into Streetview takes you around the corner to the wrong location, manually move around the corner until you get to the end terrace house with 32 on the door, that is the house in the programme as well as the one next to it.sittinprettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03213581586447606163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-44459944806148609332015-05-29T20:54:27.522+01:002015-05-29T20:54:27.522+01:00Although the house is described as being demolishe...Although the house is described as being demolished, in fact it is still there at 30-32 Linden Gardens, London. Check out the scene outside at the beginning where the caretaker is collecting the milk and this address on Google Streetview, it is exactly the same place! I think the filmmakers were telling a few porkies to make the story more interesting.sittinprettyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03213581586447606163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-64408069256948646912015-05-28T00:48:52.269+01:002015-05-28T00:48:52.269+01:00You are providing me with a good excuse for a road...You are providing me with a good excuse for a road trip next season!Gene Gaudettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12977912404770434991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-28426867894863047772015-05-24T00:53:12.215+01:002015-05-24T00:53:12.215+01:00Yes Rootie, this was Donizetti&#39;s first version...Yes Rootie, this was Donizetti&#39;s first version, which the King of Sicily banned. D revised it for Paris as Les Martyrs. Doundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-316232960198532242015-05-24T00:48:58.724+01:002015-05-24T00:48:58.724+01:00Thank you, both !
Thank you, both !<br />Doundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-82452922438020815902015-05-22T19:20:24.906+01:002015-05-22T19:20:24.906+01:00Thank you for authoring this blog and sharing your...Thank you for authoring this blog and sharing your encyclopedic knowledge of classical music, especially opera. I look forward to reading it every day, and I learn something new each time.grandoldpartyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09388717998690959623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-33816805357574338612015-05-22T16:48:37.699+01:002015-05-22T16:48:37.699+01:00Was this the original version of Poliuto, without ...Was this the original version of Poliuto, without any additions from Les Martyrs back translated into Italian? Rootiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12278779480380235860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-79103998251846444632015-05-22T04:50:40.789+01:002015-05-22T04:50:40.789+01:00Have had Rattle&#39;s and Wit&#39;s version of Szy...Have had Rattle&#39;s and Wit&#39;s version of Szymanowski&#39;s Symphony 3 for several years and have played them many times. Neither prepared me for this version by Boulez. Listening to Boulez speak on Szymanowski (in English) was a surprise, as I never would guess that Boulez would have the reverence he does for him. It&#39;s the amazing grasp of structure that Boulez imparts that is on a whole different level from the other recordings. It made me feel that I had somehow really grasped the work in a whole different and more complete way. Also the sound quality on the recording is terrific.<br />Thank you for your review, it was illuminating!Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095664349737521438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-48581041236430125632015-04-29T20:36:20.133+01:002015-04-29T20:36:20.133+01:00I wrote this article several years ago, before th3...I wrote this article several years ago, before th3e story fully broke in the west. The Orchestra was the &quot;state&quot; orchestra used all the3 time on state occasions, incl Party events, it[&#39;s notreally a concert orchestra like in the west. The year after the story, it was dropped from formal celebrations. There have been reports that some of the3 singers have re surfaced, but nothing for sure. Obviously we have to be wary of South Korean propaganda, but that does not mean apologizing for the regime. There were many who refused to believe Hitler or Stalin were doing bad things. Whether or not the full story is clear, it&#39;s pretty evident there are purges and problems in Pyongyang. <br /> Doundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-4773321160825593992015-04-29T18:03:31.200+01:002015-04-29T18:03:31.200+01:00Today we have heard that other members of the Unha...Today we have heard that other members of the Unhasu have been executed. Members of an orchestra which has not played since 2013. But...let&#39;s not go over the top. Hyon Song-woi, the singer executed in 2013 appeared in May 2014 in military gear and gave a 90-minute conference ! Of the 9 top officers executed in 2012...most have been seen alive. As for a public execution of one of the best known conductors in North Korea...that is not the way things are done there. Even Kim Jong Un is not that stupid. One of the best North Korean sopranos, Seo Un-Hyang was also executed in 2013...publically. She managed to sing on December 18th 2014. There are purges in North Korea as in all dictatorships. But most purges in NK add up to being exiled far away from Pyongyang. Most of these scoops come from the Chosun Ilbo newspaper which gets a lot of its info from the South Korean secret services. The latter often feed disinformation at delicate moments. These last few months have seen a rapprochment of NK with China and Russia. This worries South Korea. So as in every such moment the papers are fed with terrifying scoops. I am most certainly not a fan of the NK régime (after all, I&#39;m Swiss....) but we should be wary of sensational news deriving from SK :-)jean-louis Bolomeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01714011634526052750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-1268190943304423122015-04-05T03:39:22.911+01:002015-04-05T03:39:22.911+01:00One of my favorite Easter choral works!
I&#39;ve k...One of my favorite Easter choral works!<br />I&#39;ve known it for many years?<br />Would love to perform it!<br />Works quite wonderfully on organ!H L SMITH IIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12931773580912024016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-83093250729592046092015-04-01T16:57:07.051+01:002015-04-01T16:57:07.051+01:00Or Prokofiev?Or Prokofiev?NPW-Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06314486898336205068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-38126585649607539442015-04-01T16:56:20.413+01:002015-04-01T16:56:20.413+01:00Not one work by Strauss...Not one work by Strauss...NPW-Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06314486898336205068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-75835335596720463822015-03-31T13:09:34.689+01:002015-03-31T13:09:34.689+01:00That&#39;s what happens when African Muslims becom...That&#39;s what happens when African Muslims become President and enfo4ce compulsory homosexuality<br />Doundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-90689434260727439802015-03-31T01:02:53.794+01:002015-03-31T01:02:53.794+01:00Pierre Boulez is to music what Dr. Joseph Mengele ...Pierre Boulez is to music what Dr. Joseph Mengele was to the medical profession.Carrie Theuringhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264661784629523628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-61370007533159708642015-03-31T00:45:10.640+01:002015-03-31T00:45:10.640+01:00My bet, not on quality but liking, on a deserted i...My bet, not on quality but liking, on a deserted island:<br /><br />1 Debussy : Images <br /><br />2 Bartók : Piano Concerto n°2<br /><br />3 Stravinsky : Petrushka (orchestra or piano)<br /><br />4 Ravel : Left hand concerto<br /><br />5 Ligeti : Preludes for piano<br /><br />6 Britten : Billy Budd (when mental health allows)<br /><br />7 Mahler : Symphony 7<br /><br />8 Rimsky : Golden Cockerel<br /><br />9 Puccini : Madama Butterfly (with Lemieux)<br /><br />10 Elgar : Symphony n°2 (I like beckmerisng)<br /><br />11 Walton : Partita for orchestra<br /><br />12 Stravinsky : Histoire du Soldat<br /><br />13 Albéniz: Iberia <br /><br />14 Dutilleux : Symphony 1<br /><br />15 Messiaen : Turangalila<br /><br />16 Sibelius : Pohjola&#39;s Daughter<br /><br />17 Schoenberg : Variations op 28<br /><br />18 Shostakovich : Symphony 10<br /><br />19 Poulenc : Le bestiaire<br /><br />20 Nielsen : Symphony 4<br /><br />21 Lutoslawski : Quartet<br /><br />22 Me : unwritten worksOlivier Massonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08434003919232314545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-77252753789059475832015-03-28T10:40:27.577+00:002015-03-28T10:40:27.577+00:00Such a magnificent opera... I wish it could be tel...Such a magnificent opera... I wish it could be televised again or performed in Londonthislittlepiggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957324325887612924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-57920801809256854972015-03-16T20:38:04.298+00:002015-03-16T20:38:04.298+00:00Unfortunately it&#39;s a system defaultUnfortunately it&#39;s a system default<br />Doundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.com